


Don't Have to Do This

by Elf (Elfwreck)



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Canon Compliant, Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Community: purimgifts, F/M, Married Life, Medical Technology, Nursing, Poignant, post-Civil Campaign
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22982050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elfwreck/pseuds/Elf
Summary: Ekaterin takes the traditional sickbed duties of a wife very seriously. Miles thinks she shouldn't have to.
Relationships: Ekaterin Vorsoisson Vorkosigan/Miles Vorkosigan
Comments: 13
Kudos: 69
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	Don't Have to Do This

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rubynye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/gifts).



> Beta'd by sprocket, who helped with Barrayaran titles and making sure Miles was properly decisive.

Ekaterin asked Miles about the seizure equipment, and after his vague handwaving ("Nothing you need to concern yourself with; I've got it all worked out with Roic."), she asked Roic to show her the stimulator and explain how it worked.

"M'Lady, you need not--" he tried to say.

"Of course I need not. But I _want_ to be able to care for my husband." 

He couldn't object to that, and he admitted she should probably at least know how it worked. So he showed her the settings and how to interpret the readings, and told her the department to contact if there were problems with it, or if one of the seizures had complications. He gave her copies of the pamphlets he'd received, about how Miles would be dizzy after, and how to speed his recovery. 

And he kept insisting: You don't need to know this; you don't need to get involved; I am-- _we are_ \--happy to tend to Lord Miles' medical needs and don't want you to take any additional burdens--

She almost said, "It's no burden at all," but she didn't want to start her role as Lady Vorkosigan with a lie. Instead, she said, "Some burdens are welcome, Armsman," and he nodded, accepting if not understanding.

The real challenge came later, in getting Miles to accept it. To accept her. The first time, he agreed that it was a good idea for her to understand the process. The second, Roic was busy with a training exercise when Miles' numbers reached the troublesome range, and he allowed Ekaterin persuade him to let her attend him. But the next time his numbers got high--

"My dear, you really don't need to do this. Roic’s trained for it, and I can always check into the hospital for a couple of hours--"

"No!" Ekaterin was getting tired of the dodging. "I mean, of course, if that's what you _want_ , you can do that. But I'd prefer to help you with it."

"I would always prefer you by my side. You have--My love, you have brought so much joy to my life, and you have endured so much. You put up with enough of my, well, _me_ -ness, as it is. You don't need to put up with me being pathetic as well. You already had a husband who expected you to look after his every whim; I don't want you to go through that again."

"But he didn't," said Ekaterin. "Or, not like this. He didn't want me to care for him when he was sick. Or, didn't want me to _admit_ that's what I was doing. Do you know what a gift it is--to have my help _respected_? To be valued because I can _do things_? What a treasure it is, that you allow yourself to be weak around me?"

"I'm always weak, m'lady, and especially around you." 

Miles looked at her with such earnest care that she blushed. "That," she said. "That's why. Because you need help, and you're willing to admit it, and you're willing to accept it _from me_. Because you treat it like it's a favor I'm doing for you, not an obligation."

"I was not always willing to admit it," Miles said.

"Yes, and you learned your lesson from that. You don't make me pretend I'm somehow managing to care for you without disrupting my daily routine, or worse, without disrupting yours."

"Why would that be worse?" Miles asked, bewildered.

"Convincing you that I _just happened_ to be sitting by your bedside for no particular reason isn't difficult; I enjoy your company very much. Convincing you that _you_ just happened to be immobile in bed during the day, and that you _decided_ to stop understanding language and that I should rearrange your limbs and give you sips of water… that's much harder to do. And there are men who expect their wives to do exactly that."

Miles looked like he wanted to ask if Tien was one of them, but stopped himself. Good. Ekaterin didn't have to explain that it hadn't come up, but she was pretty sure that she would've been expected to do exactly that as his Vorzohn's Dystrophy began to manifest.

"I would never want you to lie to me. I never want you to lie _for_ me."

"I know. And that's why I want to do this for you. Because it's important that it's someone you trust, and because I am honored to have that trust."

"M'lady," he started to say, and she put her finger over his mouth.

"Let me have the last word this time." 

He kissed her finger, and mouthed silently, _Always_. 

She smiled wryly at him, and started setting up the machine.


End file.
